1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automobile interior structure, wherein upon deployment of a folded airbag mounted on an exterior side of a headliner interior material, the airbag deploys inside a vehicle cabin from between an end portion of the headliner interior material and surrounding members, and also relates to headliner interior material used for such a structure.
2. Description of the Related Art
Automobiles have various interior materials installed. A headliner interior material located on a ceiling portion forms a self-supporting base material, which is attached below a roof panel. A top surface of the headliner interior material faces inside a passenger compartment, and applied thereon is a cover material made from fabric or the like to heighten design. The headliner interior material is installed on the ceiling portion, and engaged and held with respect to the roof panel at a plurality of locations set at appropriate intervals to ensure that the headliner interior material does not sag or fall due to gravity.
An engaging element is attached to a general surface of a back surface of the headliner interior material, and the engaging element is used to engage the headliner interior material with the roof panel. Furthermore, a pillar garnish and an opening trim may be installed on the roof panel adjacent to the headliner interior material, and an edge portion of the headliner interior material may be placed on and held to an edge portion of the pillar garnish and a lip of the opening trim. An alignment is thus achieved by which the end portion of the headliner interior material does not sag. Moreover, various accessories such as coat hooks, assist grips, sun visors, and illumination lamps can be provided on a vehicle cabin side of the headliner interior material.
A curtain airbag is installed along the back of right and left edge portions of the headliner interior material so as to be normally unseen from the passenger compartment. In the event that an impact of a certain intensity or higher is detected, an inflator is activated. This deploys the curtain airbag so as to instantly expand and hang downward curtain-like between an occupant and a right or left door window, thereby protecting the occupant from an encounter with a side object. For downward expansion of the curtain airbag, the headliner interior material is released from the support of the pillar garnish and the opening trim such that a clearance (outlet) is formed between the edge portion of the headliner interior material and the vehicle (body), thereby allowing the curtain airbag to expand while hanging down.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. JP-A-2000-71928 discloses, as shown in FIG. 1 of the same document, that a narrow groove (9) extending in the longitudinal direction of a vehicle body is provided on a surface on an exterior side of a roof trim (8). A mobile portion (8a) is formed lower than the groove (9) of the roof trim, and a bottom edge of the mobile portion (8a) and a top edge of a pillar garnish (5) face each other. Activation of an inflator (16) delivers gas into a protection bag (1), thereby thrusting the bag (1) onto the mobile portion (8a) below the groove (9) such that the mobile portion (8a) opens outward to inside a vehicle cabin.
As mentioned above, various accessories are provided on the vehicle cabin side of the headliner interior material. Thus, the airbag should deploy from between the end portion of the headliner interior material and surrounding members, such as opening trim and pillar garnish which surround the end portion of the headliner interior material, and at the same time any accessories should be reliably prevented from falling when the airbag is deployed.